Infiniti president sees QX30 boosting sales in North Am and Europe

Roland Krueger, president of Infiniti Motor Co., expects the recently unveiled Infiniti QX30 crossover concept to boost the premium brand's sales in North America and Europe while helping it expand its dealership network in markets outside North America. He remarked that the Infiniti QX30 gives them access to a volume base that the brand couldn't previously offer to its business partners.

Officials from the carmaker and retailers held a meeting at Infiniti’s stand at the Geneva auto show to talk about dealership opportunities and inspect the new crossover. Infiniti plans to roll out the new crossover in 2016. It has been working with its dealers in the United States for a seamless launch of its new Q30 compact hatch late this year, followed by the QX30 crossover next year.

Until QX30, Infiniti has no entry in the compact crossover segment in the US, which has been one of the fastest gainers in the region. "Everybody's targeting that segment," Krueger said, adding that the compact crossovers are an important source of sales for Infiniti for conquering and upgrading.

The carmaker posted a 14-percent surge in sales in 2014, showing wonders for its efforts in expanding its presence outside the US to the United Kingdom, Germany, Russia, China and other.

In fact, Non-US sales accounted for 68,870 of its vehicles sold in 2014. According to Krueger, Infiniti will be adding more dealers in Europe in the coming year, particularly Germany, where it has just six dealerships.

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